How do we gain power over death?

[coberst]

How do we gain power over death?

Psychology informs me that it is the nature of humans to be influenced greatly by the recognition of the self and that the self must die. All of us have a great energy directed toward not dying. We dread the conscious thought of dying because our instincts reject death. When we consciously entertain the thought of death we are driven into anxiety and the task of the ego is to reject this anxiety and thus the ego represses such consciousness.

We have the narcissistic urge to reject death and to gain power over death. In gaining this power over death we do many things and one of these things we do is kill others to prove that “Our God is bigger than Their God”. Accumulation of power in all of its manifestations is a form of fighting death and gaining immortality in a sense. Of course we know we must die but our efforts are directed at repressing this awareness by fighting the evil of death and thereby killing others in this effort.

We create all kinds of artificial things to hide within in this process. Nationalism and religion are perhaps the most dangerous of our creations. I guess almost all killing in war is done under the banner of nationalism or religion.

Becker compares three great thinkers Otto Rank, Wilhelm Reich, and Carl Jung to conclude that the three provide us nothing with which to connect their conclusions except that they dissented from Freud. However, there is agreement on the answer to the fundamental question, “What causes evil in human affairs?”

This agreement is also the agreement in all of the human sciences; “man wants above all to endure and prosper, to achieve immortality in some way”.

Wo/man wants, above all, to reject the knowledge of mortality; s/he does so by seeking to assure immortality in some way. Mortality is connected to our animal nature and thereby wo/man reaches for some way of being transcendent of that nature. As our mental capacity increased we rejected other animals with a vengeance because these other animals “embodied what man feared most, a nameless and faceless death.

Our fears are buried deeply within our unconsciousness by repression, that great discovery of the science of psychoanalysis. This repression “is achieved by the symbolic engineering of culture, which everywhere serves men as an antidote to terror by giving them a new and durable life beyond that of the body”.

I have recently finished reading “The Art of War” an article in the March 12, 2007 edition of “Time” by Lev Grossman. The article is about a, largely computer generated, movie regarding a war in ancient Greece. The movie’s title is “The 300 Spartans” and Zack Snyder is the director. The movie is, except for the human actors, a virtual world created by digital movie techniques. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1595241-2,00.html

“Snyder is one of a small, hypertechnical fringe of directors who are exploring a new way to make movies by discarding props, sets, extras and real-life locations and replacing them with their computer-generated equivalents.”

“With so much computer-generated make-believe going on, the actor’s physicality is the movie’s only link to the real world…every frame was manipulated and color-shifted to create an intense, thunderstorm palette…The result is a gorgeous, dreamlike movie that’s almost perfect. Every frame is neat and composed, like an oil painting, not a hair or a grain of sand out of place. All noise and dissonance have been digitally eliminated. Maybe that’s the only way to make a war movie right now, or at least, the only way to make a war movie that’s not an antiwar movie…That’s why it’s a piece of mythology. It’s what we would hope for. “300” is a vision of war as ennobling and morally unambiguous and spectacularly good-looking.”

That’s one hell of a special effect. And this movie is, I find, an insight into the meaning of “evil in human affairs”. We are all directors of our individual and our community’s virtual reality.

I suspect we have repressed such conscious thoughts about mortality that we are inclined to dispatch with a shrug any talk of such matters; do you ever consciously seek to “achieve immortality in some way”?

Quotes from Escape from Evil—Ernest Becker

[Apathy]

Death is inevitable, once humans became aware of this the inborn "selfish Gene" that exists in even the simplest organism went into chaos. It makes us want to survive, even at the expense of others. But if we all must die, according to the laws of entropy, even our offspring(our vain attempt at Immortality) must die as well.
Darryl Rheamey(Author of 'After Death') has presented that along the road of evolution organisms chose between a practically immortal body and the ability to reproduce, and quantity won over quality. Take ants for example, though pretty amazing for their size, they would stand no chance against a human, so why aren't they extinct? The fact is that if you squish one, there are always more; they survive by simply producing huge numbers of offspring.
We as humans have one at a time but it is equipped the mental faculties to survive on it's own(after it's raised)

[blazeofglory]

There is no death, but only transformation.

[Nax]

Maybe we only die because we are told we do so. From the time u are able to talk, it is one of the most important lessons to learn. Death is inevitable, its drilled into us. And as such we welcome it as fact, because its the way it always has been. Wat would happen if you took a baby, and made him believe there was no death? Never let him witness death in any manner, what would his understanding of life and purpose be? If not to eventually die...what would he do with the time he was given?

I personally do not fear death, I am quite on terms with the fact that there is a great possibility I will live my life to the granduer of my capabilities and create hardly the smallest of ripples in passing. I am an adequate man, but a man none the less.

[BienvenuJDC]

There was only One who ever overcame death, and He is willing to share that, if only you believe. Are you interested?

[Nax]

I have always had an interest in religion. But ive already found who u speak of years ago. We have our own little understanding him and I, and I dont follow any particular religion because I dont believe its what he wants, for all of us to have the same relationship, protocol, etc when it comes to him. I think each persons relationship with God should be unique, as thats how he made us.

[BienvenuJDC]

I have always had an interest in religion. But ive already found who u speak of years ago. We have our own little understanding him and I, and I dont follow any particular religion because I dont believe its what he wants, for all of us to have the same relationship, protocol, etc when it comes to him. I think each persons relationship with God should be unique, as thats how he made us.

Maybe you should just listen to what He has to say about it...there is one church that only teaches what He gave us...

[Nax]

I dont need a book or a religion to tell me what my God wants me to do, or thinks of me, or how I should worship him. I understand him as much as any human can, and he understands me exactly, seeing as I am from him and in his image. He knows how I feel in my heart of hearts, and that I am a good person, and I feel that is enough. I dont believe in religion because I dont believe in a God that makes me jump through a series of hoops and acts to gain access to his gifts and his strength.

Religion is in my oppinion, man creating a God in his image, which is blasphemy. Its an attempt by one, or a few, to figure out God and make it applicable to the many, but I think that isnt God's will, he gave us the power of decision, conciousness, each of us is different on every imaginable level, why then would he wish us all to conform to a set method of having a relationship with him? A father doesnt tell his children to love him the same, and he in turn loves them all differently.

But were getting a smidge off topic, so feel free to PM me further or send me a link to a blog u start on the subject, nothing I like talking about more then matters of the spirit.

[BienvenuJDC]

Oh...I'm sorry! I didn't know that we were talking about your god. I was speaking of the One who has power over death...which is on topic...exactly on topic. But if you are not interested in hearing it, then I will go elsewhere.

[blazeofglory]

There is no death and what we call death is in substance reunion. We came from a certain source, the earth being that and we are going to return to that source and again can emerge. This is a very subtle idea and understanding this demands of us a great amount contemplation in life.

[NikolaiI]

There is no death and what we call death is in substance reunion. We came from a certain source, the earth being that and we are going to return to that source and again can emerge. This is a very subtle idea and understanding this demands of us a great amount contemplation in life.

Blaze, you have unparalleled wisdom and humility...

I speak these concepts but I have no understanding of them... but it does make sense to me that Earth is our source, or the Sun is our source...

[aquarium444]

Vampires have power over death. If you become a vampire than that is one way. The other way might be something theoretical, such as the answer to the question of what can supersede death. Is accepting a God that has power to create and therefore the ability to introduce new laws plausible? The closest we have come is like the OP said, in film and computer animation, but no tangible way to find new laws that supersede the laws of science are established. Why worry about it.

Last of all, you can look at the reverse side, and wonder about how to live. How do you live well, etc.

[blazeofglory]

[QUOTE The other way might be something theoretical, such as the answer to the question of what can supersede death. Is accepting a God that has power to create and therefore the ability to introduce new laws plausible?

Last of all, you can look at the reverse side, and wonder about how to live. How do you live well, etc.[/QUOTE]

There is nothing called God the way you generalize in point of fact. God is everything you and me and the rest of animates and in-animates. God is within and without us and there is nothing that is not permeated by God. People generally see God as a form and shape or idea or concept but God supersedes or transcends all. Then the question can crop as to what God is. I cannot say, in fact no one can say in absolute terms. God is synonymic to or the same thing as universality.

Man does die but existence transcends all deaths. We live on through the existence of us. This is not explainable and we must close our eyes and meditate to understand this.

[aquarium444]

Sure, it seems true that God can exist inside of the human body, and in other things such as the burning bush.

In regard to the concept of immortality. It appears that immortality is beyond people's ability to conquer, but instead a person can try to focus on living well with what is available at the time. It is subjective, and not everything is offered in the society that I live in, but some things are offered but other things are cut off. My personality allows me to have or do a certain amount of things in this society. What can you turn to if immortality is not an option.

Back to God. Yes, there are spirits, there are all kinds of different forms. What good is any of it? What good is God. There are Bibles that read from right to left. There are Bibles that read from left to right. Like I said before. All you can do is search in order to find out what is comfortable, and use it as a crutch.

[aquarium444]

On the other hand. We could start publishing these philosophical text to read from right to left instead of left to right.... and see what happens. Besides, isn't that the way they are supposed to be in the first place?

[blazeofglory]

In point of fact we forget to live when we are too much obsessed with death; and we die before death and this is idiocy. Let us forget death for a while and feel the enormity or universality of us and feel winged and take flights against eternity and we will feel eternal. We will live on and on in different forms, in the forms of animals, birds, insects, plants, mountains, rivers, the wind and the like. We are in existence in them and they in us. Just a little contemplation everything will be clear to us

[Katy North]

In my opinion, the only useful contemplation of death is of being aware of "time's winged chariot hurrying near" and being sure to enjoy the time we have and accomplish all we hope to in this life-time. Religion might be a comfort to some, but I can think of nothing more harmful than becoming complacent because one believes he or she will go on forever.

Instead of focusing on escaping death, let us focus on having as few regrets as possible on our death bed.

[blazeofglory]

We can get over death by living full and ripen as most die before death

[JonathanLockely]

I believe the original question was how do we gain mastery over death?

The short answer? We do not know. we can debate for hours, and everyone here will have their own opinion. whether it be through God, through a Zen like oneness with the earth, or maybe just a blank abyss.

One thing I noticed is everyone here is looking at personal immortality. I take a bit of a different approach.

I'm going to assume you are all aware of Nietzsche's Theory of Eternal Recurrence? if not here is a link. http://western-philosophy.suite101.com/article.cfm/nietzches_theory_of_eternal_recurrence

Anyways A friend of mine once had this debate with me. he stated that yes he was prepared to live it all over again through time immemorial.

I however would not be continent with living my life over and over again. I would rather go into that abyss not knowing what's on the other side, that to see human existence come to naught, frozen at a standstill like some bauble on a child's nightstand.

There are many things that separate us from animals and the one thing that I take away from that is a deep love for being human. No one has to tell you your human, that you share an intimate relation with 7 Billion other people on this planet, or how fragile our species is. I would rather seek immortality through the species.

You might look at this and say it's Globalism or Humanism just some inflated form of Nationalism or Religion, but I would die for my species to live. I cannot say what's on the other side... And I have my suspicions that there is nothing there... But by living my life like this I think I could die satisfied.

[caddy_caddy]

I gain power over death by accepting it simply, by complete resigning to this fact . The more we fear it , the more it gains power over us .

[blazeofglory]

Death is gnawing at us every hour, yet in reality we never die; in fact it is the sheer idea of death that creeps in as a nightmarish thing but not death itself. Think about the moment you die. Till the moment you are alive and the pains you are living with the idea that you are meeting with death but once you die everything will be over, and you may enter another with another host welcoming you. You cannot understand for you are too much obsessed with life, for thinking beyond the idea of death is unthinkable.

If we can transcend these limits we can realize the true meaning of death.

[MSDGreen]

In my opinion, Death is the price that must be payed for life. Each person deals with the realization of death in their own way, and the methods vary drastically: from acceptance of an afterlife or a resurrection, to those that see death as turning your on/off swtich to off. My persoanl belief in the life/death cycle really shouldn't matter to anyone else, and may not work for anyone else.

It is a privilage for me to be alive, and to witness some of the things I have. Death will be the end of my journey of life, and I would rather pay that price then live in fear of paying it. This doesn't mean that I am reckless, it means that I try not to let the fear of death rule the way that I live.

[Boo Radley]

[QUOTE=coberst;763849]How do we gain power over death?

You can't. Or do you mean the fear of death?

[blazeofglory]

Death and life can be likened to light and darkness. Just we feel the absence of the other when one is there

[African_Love]

The prospect of dying does not cause me anxiety. When I'm dead, I won't know or care that I'm dead and the pleasure I experience in life will not be missed.

All suffering will eventually come to an end and that's a good thing.